Vincent Lichter

Chapter 1 First appears in:

Dr. Emilio Matos

Dr. Matos crossed paths with Vincent when he was a younger man and knows Vincent's parents, the co-founders of the LYS. Today, he works closely with Vincent in order to gain access to the Deep Fold.

Luther Goodwin

Having welcomed the Lichter family into the LYS, Luther saw a lot of potential in their young son, Vincent, who revelled in the praise. Years later, when Vincent’s questionable Diving program was shuttered by Luther it placed the wedge that would divide the society and breed hatred between the two men. &nbsp;Neither would be who they are without the other.

Mila Savic

Mila meets Vincent during the early days of the Ascendants Diving project. In him, she sees a born leader with a cause he could rally talent around. Vincent took note of Mila’s cunning, toughness, and military discipline. Soon they realize that each provides exactly what the other is needing; Mila becomes Vincent’s top lieutenant, and Vincent Mila’s unquestioned commander.

The Leap Year Society

To say a certain degree of pressure was placed on young Vincent is an understatement. During his early days within the LYS, many had naturally assumed that Vincent would become one of many candidates who reflected the “future of the society.” As it turned out, nothing unfolded in the manner that LYS mentors and predecessors foresaw – even Vincent himself understands that he was the ‘unknown factor’ within the society at large.

Richat Structure: Teacher and Apprentice

Vincent and his Ascendants are excavating in the remote Richat Structure when&lt;sp&gt; Reika stops by, attempting to drive them off. Reika shows how powerful she is, but Vincent is ready for her with some kind of high tech Umbric inhibitor machines... was he expecting her &lt;/sp&gt;all along?

Chamatkari Mandir: Homecoming

In the Temple, Vincent easily &lt;sp&gt;defeats Haroona and is about to deliver the final blow when the Morning Star suddenly arrives at the last minute.&lt;/sp&gt;

Peshanden: Demons Below

Vincent is on the threshold of his greatest victory when &lt;sp&gt;Haroona enters Fold to do battle with him. After being outsmarted by his nemesis, he is untethered from his body in the material plane resulting in his Shade to be sent hurtling into the void of the Deep Fold.&lt;/sp&gt;

In 1888, Vincent Lichter was the youngest to witness the birth of the Leap Year Society (LYS). His family - deeply entrenched in an esoteric secret order - embraced the LYS ethos, and Vincent soon became a devoted member. His fascination with the Fold intensified, leading him to specialize in Diving—a discipline that would alter the course of his life.&nbsp;Within the LYS, Vincent’s talents and ambition propelled him forward. To the elder Quaestors, he symbolized hope—a harbinger of the society’s potential impact upon the world. His decision to join a Diving research project in 1890s Alaska was hailed as a providential blessing, all but guaranteeing the project’s success.&nbsp;In the rugged Alaskan wilderness, Vincent collaborated with brilliant and dedicated Quaestors. After relentless effort, he achieved his first Dive into the mind-bending Deep Fold. Each subsequent Dive left him transformed; his determination turned into obsession. Marshalling support, he expanded the project into a Diver training school—the Ascendants. Yet, in this pursuit, Vincent’s noble qualities, once in the service of the LYS’s altruistic goals, twisted into something more troubling and radical.&nbsp;As the Ascendant rhetoric grew provocative and their Fold explorations reckless, the Leap Year Society had no choice but to shutter the Ascendants initiative. Undeterred, Vincent declared war. The Ascendants, he asserted, were the true heirs of the LYS. Members could either pledge allegiance to him or face Ascendant wrath. Nothing would stop them from harnessing the ominous power they discovered in the Fold for humanity’s future—a future where Vincent wielded significant power.

No one can accuse Haroona of leading an easy life.&nbsp; From an orphan living on the streets of Chamiri to adopting the ways of a nomadic Quaestor-in-training, she possesses a special gift belonging only to the very few. As the source of her phenomenal strength, she believes it also keeps her from fully integrating into society; using her gift to help others sometimes does more harm than good. Haroona develops feelings of isolation, slowly withdrawing and shutting others out. &nbsp; After receiving guidance in the Umbric arts and discovering the existence of the Fold, she learns to control herself better than before. The knowledge is nothing short of a revelation, however, it does not - or cannot - fix everything. Now in her early twenties and still alone in the world, Haroona takes on odd jobs to survive while meandering in and out of dangerous circumstances. Prone to reckless behavior or acting on impulse, Haroona nevertheless possesses wisdom beyond her years, granting her purview to see life for what it truly is: one big game where the stakes hardly matter anymore.

Haroona

For years, Haroona’s life has been a quest to find Vincent and avenge her mentor. For Vincent, Haroona is little more than an annoyance, albeit an increasingly vexing one—an apprentice girl who doesn’t know her place in the grander scheme of things.

In the Shivalik foothills of the Himalayas, locals know of a spry old woman usually called Reika. Her name is about all that’s known. She’s not quite a wandering sadhu (or mystic), not quite a hermit. She is certainly not from the area yet she speaks every local dialect. Some villages may go years between seeing her. She is not hostile but declines any invitations or gifts.&nbsp;Some in the early LYS have a similar experience of her. For a time, she is often around their gatherings, though nobody can say if she was a member or not. She shares little and limits her interactions—a watcher, not a joiner—but always seems to be the most knowledgeable and skilled Quaestor in the room.&nbsp;There are rumblings that she takes on apprentices from time to time. For eager Quaestors this is a prospect as exciting as it is intimidating; just being in Reika’s presence can be a humbling experience.

Reika

Reika did once consider Vincent a pupil of hers, but the extent of their lessons never approached that of Reika and Haroona. Nevertheless, Reika was instrumental in helping Vincent to take his first steps into the Deep Fold. Without her, there would be no

The Ascendants, an offshoot of the LYS, emerged from Vincent Lichter’s desires and obsessions. While the LYS advocates for a steady journey from Earth to the heavens, the Ascendants embody the impulse to leap for the stars, no matter the cost. Their story reflects the universal struggle within each human—to separate oneself from others and rise above.&nbsp;The LYS believes that the quest for knowledge is a fundamentally human concern that must be achieved with unity, the Ascendants are ready and willing to leave behind those who will not walk the path with them.

The Ascendants

From its inception as a simple LYS project, Vincent has been the unquestioned leader of the Ascendants. As it evolved from a Diver training project into an ideological movement and beyond, Vincent has also had to evolve, becoming something in between a general, a CEO, and a cult leader.

Countless cultures have myths and legends involving an otherworld. For some, it is the “dream world,” and many older civilizations dub it a “spirit realm.” Beyond mere mythology, there is in fact a shadowy dimension that overlaps the material world, just beyond our perception. Quaestors have long known it as the Fold.It is the place consciousness resides, the origin of all human thought. A multi-tiered dimension suffused with an energy known as Am, full of wonder, wisdom, and danger. To gain access, a Quaestor must leave their physical body behind and rely on their consciousness as a vehicle. Those with sufficient skill and experience can access no less than the sum of all human knowledge; those lacking will surely meet their end.

The Fold

In 1888, the newly established LYS introduced the concept of the Fold to young Vincent. Immediately drawn to the shadowy dimension's myriad mysteries and untold knowledge waiting within, he developed an intuitive understanding of the realm which later facilitated his personal (and tragic) mission into the Deep Fold in 1899.

From deep within the Fold, the solitude of yawning space beyond human perception, a faceless mountain known by many names slumbers in the gossamer veil of Penumbra. The LYS call it ‘Seshin.’ As no official documentation of this being exists, there is little in the way of reliable details save for Vincent’s account of his tragic Deep Dive assignment, and the feverish testimonies of those claiming to see it in visions. But who or what is Seshin? &nbsp;According to multiple ancient Sahin warnings, for the stability of the world, it was imperative that Sahin be imprisoned and frozen in the abyss of time, ensuring that humanity would never be exposed to it. What could be so perilous that banishing it was the only choice? Furthermore, the warnings forbid anyone from making contact with it; to do so is to have one’s nascent mind “frayed by the ecstasy and the horror” of its presence. No meaningful description of it is mentioned. In the Fold, Seshin is neither obviously male nor female (or perhaps both simultaneously), its body ever mutable without an orderly shape or contour that satisfies normal comprehension. Above all, it is not to be disturbed from its eternal stasis or else “all that is old will be destroyed, reality contorted and reconstructed ‘til Truth is no more.”

Seshin

Vincent’s first contact with Seshin did not evoke fear; rather, it felt more like rapture. He was certain that this being within the Deep Fold could transform him into the hero he always believed he could be. Seshin’s intentions, however, remain inscrutable.

Rusher

Bruiser

Gunner

Gearhead

George William Crowfield

Reika's Amulet

Shade Bracers

Diving

Shroud

Scribing

The Unknown 9

Peshanden

Reithden, Central Africa

The Morning Star

Chamiri: Hostile Takeover

Suknasari Forest: Unlikely Companions

The Morning Star: More Than Meets the Eye

Unknown 9: Awakening

He was a mere boy when he was first touched by the Fold. One wonders if that was too soon.